district home page     contact us

School News - Tip Sheet - 1/28/2009

District Students Selected by Music Educators Association 

1/28/2009

Tulsa Public Schools is extremely well-represented as the Oklahoma Music Educators Association selects its All-State Choir and Jazz Ensemble.

Paige Godfrey, the district’s music curriculum specialist, reports the choir and ensemble are “very prestigious groups chosen from the top musicians across the state.”

Here is the TPS line-up: Betsy Hays, Edison High School and Madelyn Edwards, East Central High School, were selected for the choir.

Ben Cowen and Taylor Johnson, Edison, have been tapped for the jazz ensemble. Booker T. Washington’s Terri Fleming and Madeline Lackey and Memorial High School’s Sara Weisman are part of the All-State Women’s Choir. The association’s annual conference is January 28-31, 2009, at the Tulsa Convention Center. Go to www.OKMEA.org for more information.

 

‘Sound and Spirit’ Concert Assists Needy Students 

1/31/2009, 8 p.m.

A weekend concert benefits TPS students participating in the Food-4-Kids Backpack program.

“Sound and Spirit: Dreaming of Family” is an interfaith performance spotlighting Oklahoma’s musical vitality—everything from Latin dance music to country swing and just about every genre in between.

Edward Dumit, Tulsa radio legend and the voice of local National Public Radio affiliate KWGS, narrates the show. The line-up also includes the rich, close-harmony sound of “Three Penny Upright,” the powerful voices of Rick Fortner’s “All Souls Choir,” and Tulsa blues queen Rusti Love.

“The Food-4-Kids Backpack program is designed to send food home to students in need who benefit from free and reduced price breakfasts and lunches at school during the week, but on the weekends may experience bare cupboards,” said Greg Raskin, the concert’s director of publicity.

The concert is Saturday, January 31, at Congregation B’nai Emunah, located at the corner of Peoria and Seventeenth street. Tickets are available at $10 each for regular seating, $36 for orchestra seating and $5 each for student seating. It begins at 8 p.m. Call 583-7121 for more information.

 

Fox’s ‘One Class at a Time’ Nod Goes to Memorial’s Choir  

2/3/2009, 9:45 a.m.

Memorial High School’s choir gets around. On January 22 they participated in the twenty-sixth annual MasterWorks concert, issuing a rendition of composer Franz Schubert’s 1815 classic “Mass No. 2 in G."

Now they have been selected as a recipient of FOX23’s “One Class at a Time” award. The honor, handed out monthly during the school year, nets the choir a $1,000 donation.

“The choir has been a long-running tradition,” said Tresa Waggoner, director of the choir. “Memorial has come to have a reputation as having a very good Vocal Music Department. I’ve got some great kids and they know what’s expected from them.”

Crews from Fox are heading out to shoot the choir on Tuesday, February 3, at 9:45 a.m.

 

Annual Metro Honor Band Concert 

2/3/2009

An upcoming free concert spotlights the best and brightest musicians in the Tulsa Public Schools system.

Students taking part in the Annual Metro Honor Band concert were selected by audition and represent the following schools: Byrd, Carver, Clinton, Edison Middle, Foster, Lewis and Clark, Madison, Whitney, Central, East Central, Edison High, Hale, Memorial, Rogers, Washington, and Webster.

The University of Oklahoma’s Michael Raiber is conducting the high school band. The concert is Tuesday, February 3, at 7 p.m. at Memorial High School’s Call Hall.

 

Signing Day Showcases Cream of TPS Crop 

2/4/2009, 11 a.m.

The local student-athletes preparing to take the world of college sports by storm will attend Tulsa Public Schools’ annual Signing Day at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, February 4, at the Education Service Center.

Director of Athletics Dr. Stephanie Spring says Signing Day has been a district milestone for years.

“This is an exciting event each and every year where the district has the opportunity to recognize the accomplishments of the many talented student-athletes in Tulsa Public Schools,” Dr. Spring said. “Of all the events we hold this one is very special, as it recognizes those students who have earned an opportunity to compete in their sport at the next level.”

Signing Day takes place in the Cheryl Selman Room, located on the first floor of the ESC. Student-athletes have been invited to bring along friends and family members.

 

Tulsa Gangs 101 Features TPS Police Chief 

2/5/2009, 8:30 a.m

Tulsa Public Schools Police Chief Gary Rudick will be one of the experts featured during an upcoming course examining Tulsa’s street gangs.

Tulsa Gangs 101 includes a look at local gangs and their identifiers such as graffiti, hand signals and clothing, a history of the gang phenomenon in northeastern Oklahoma, and specific training on dealing with gang activity.

Chief Rudick is slated to speak on the response local law enforcement musters to gang presence in area schools. Members of the Tulsa Police Gang Unit and community leaders will also appear.

The class is Thursday, February 5, 8:30 a.m-5 p.m., at the Mabee Center. It’s free to members of the Oklahoma Gang Investigators Association, $25 to non-members. Download registration forms at www.ogia.us.

 

Cove Offers Students Unique Experience 

2/5/2009

Connor’s Cove is a children’s theatre designed to stimulate young imaginations. Now schools participating in the Tulsa Area Community Schools Initiative are heading to the cove, which is located at the Hardesty Regional Library. Library personnel say the cove is perfect for reader’s theater, puppet shows, martial arts and dance demonstrations.

What follows are the dates, performers and schools in the TPS system attending assigned performances:

• February 5—Eugene Field, Kendall-Whittier, Mark Twain
• March 5—Alcott, Cooper, McClure
• March 10—Addams, Bryant, Celia Clinton
• March 12—Hawthorne, Marshall, McKinley

The theatre offers seating for 420. Transportation is available courtesy of a grant secured by the Tulsa City-County Library. The capacity for each bus is 55 people. Contact Genie Shannon at 585-5551 for more information. She can also be e-mailed at gshannon@csctulsa.org.

 

Art Show Spotlights TPS Students 

2/6/2009, 6 p.m.

They may be little, but they have big talent and we can prove it as a February show emphasizes the artistic skills of elementary school children in the TPS system.

Slated for Friday, February 6, the show runs from 6-8 p.m. at the Tulsa Artists' Coalition, located at 9 E. Brady St.

Schools being showcased include Greeley, Grissom, Kendall-Whittier, Mark Twain, Patrick Henry and Zarrow International.

The event is free and open to the public. The gallery’s director is Steve Tomlin, who also works as a visual arts educator at Grissom.

 

Hale Open House 

2/6/2009, 10 a.m.

Nathan Hale High School is holding an open house on Friday, February 6. It’s a chance to check out the school’s brand-new magnet facilities, which complement one of the district’s most dynamic (and yummy!) magnet strands.

The open house runs from 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.

Hale’s Restaurant, Lodging, and Health Management Magnet provides focused, intensive, career-oriented training for students interested in pursuing futures in the world of hospitality.

The strands in Hale’s magnet program were developed by world and national industry experts from the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation and the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute.

 

Kids, Kows, and More  

3/12/2009

TPS third and fourth graders are invited to participate in a program providing an up-close look at agriculture.

“Kids, Kows and More” is sponsored by the Tulsa County OSU Extension Service, Southwest Dairy Association and the Texas Extension Service. The program takes place March 12 and 13 at the Tulsa State Fair Grounds.

The exhibits and demonstrations include dairy, cotton, beef, swine, wheat, sheep and wool. Students attending the expo are encouraged to write an essay called, “What I learned about agriculture on my field trip to Kids, Kows, and More.” Essays are evaluated on agriculture knowledge, originality, creativity and mechanics —including grammar, organization, and punctuation. The winning student will receive a $100 savings bond and the class will receive an ice cream party. For more information, contact the Tulsa County OSU Extension Center at 746-3709.

 

Choose your style.